What is the 30 day rule?
The 30 day rule gives you 30 days to think about whether you should buy something. This rule is most important to use when considering a costly item. Such as a car, PC or phone.
Why use the 30 day rule?
The goal of the 30 day rule is to prevent you from buying on impulse, which is really NOT good for your finances.
How does the 30 day rule work?
Step 1: Create a note of your possible purchase and place it in a prominent place
Step 2: Include (on the note) the date you first thought about buying the thing
Step 3: Within the 30 days, ask yourself these questions:
-“Do I really need to spend money on this thing?” (If no, you’ve just saved yourself money!)
-“What do the online reviews say about this thing?” (The reviews need to be at least largely good)
-“Is this item good value for money?” (Are you happy with its price, features and performance?)
-“Where is the cheapest place to buy this item?” (Search online for the best deal)
By the end of 30 days, you’ll be able to decide on to buy or not to buy. Your decision will be informed and NOT based on impulse buying 🙂
Concrete Example of the 30 day rule in action:
Recently, I wanted to upgrade to a new phone.
Steps 1 & 2:
I left a virtual post-it note on my PC desktop. The note has the question: “Should I upgrade to a new phone?” and the date the idea first came to my mind.
Step 3:
I gave myself 30 days to think over this possible buy.
I then asked myself whether my 2-year-old phone was meeting my needs well (Note: needs, NOT wants!).
The answer was no. It was slow and could not do things like download needed apps properly.
Is my old phone meeting most of my needs?
No.
Does it have enough memory to multitask well?
No. It has only 0.5 GB of RAM, and so it’s very slow.
I also had the time to research my potential new phone:
-I read user reviews and expert reviews.
-I looked at prices and features.
-I compared prices online and found a new phone that meets my needs and is very affordable.
Therefore after about 30 days, I bought my new phone for $91. It’s been several months since, and I have found my new phone to be great.
Click on the picture below “What is the 30 day rule?” to watch a video on how you can curb impulse buying. I promise it’s fun and you’ll get to see adorable dogs!
Wrap Up
As you can see, the 30 day rule works well for me and is also good for my pocket, even though I decided to go ahead and buy my phone. This was because I gave myself more than enough time to research phones that were within my $100 budget.
Use the 30 day rule to decide whether to buy or not to buy stuff that costs more money.
You’ll be very glad you did 🙂
Have you used the 30 day rule? Did it work out well for you? Would you recommend it to others? Comment below to share what happened.
Or are you planning to use the 30 day rule? Give it a go and see how it’ll help you to save money.
